It’s March 2018 and I am no longer acknowledging our scale in the bathroom.
You know what’s to blame? Nope, it’s not the fact that I just delivered a baby a few months ago.
It’s the Girl Scouts of America.
You know, those little sweet eyed, rosy cheeked girls that you pretend not to see as you enter the grocery store because all it takes is one millisecond of eye contact and suddenly you’ve spent $40 dollars on Tagalongs. Perhaps like me, your adorable neighborhood mini-hustlers are so good that they got you with that upsell and convinced you to spend that extra dollar on the gluten-free kind, never mind the fact that you’ve never, ever excluded gluten from your diet a day in your life.
So let’s just say we’ve been incorporating more salads into our daily diet.
We recently tried and loved this Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad from one of our favorite, fool proof recipe creators Once Upon A Chef. The salad is made with fresh kale and trimmed brussels sprouts, tossed with toasted walnuts and grated parmigiano reggiano and a lemon-dijon mustard dressing. As someone who typically likes sweeter salads and dressings, I added in a handful of dried cranberries. And because I’m a make-ahead type of gal, I prepared the salad and dressing separately in the afternoon and stored in the fridge, then tossed it and let the flavors meld and vegetables soften and come to room temperature later on in the day while I prepared dinner.
See below for the recipe!
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 pound Tuscan or curly kale (about 1 large bunch), thick center rib removed, leaves thinly sliced
- 1 cup coarsely grated or chopped Parmigiano Reggiano
- dried cranberries (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots, from one large shallot
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Bake the walnuts for 5-8 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Keep a close eye on them; they burn quickly.
- Combine the brussels sprouts and kale in a large bowl.
- Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetables. Add most of the walnuts and cheese, reserving some to garnish the platter, and toss well. Add in cranberries, if desired. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or up to a few hours in the fridge) to allow the flavors to meld and the vegetables to soften. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter the remaining walnuts and cheese over top. Serve at room temperature.
This looks delicious, Jasmine! Would you mind if I include it in a salads roundup blog post next month?
Not at all, Jazz!
Looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Kristin! Hope you enjoy it!
It looks delicious, couldn’t be anymore healthy for you and is
perfect for an Easter side dish.
We thought about it being a dish that you would like when we were making it!! <3
Those cookies are so good!
So so good!!!
I’m not sure how, but somehow I’ve avoided the Girl Scouts all season. I just put my head down and walk swiftly with my collar pulled up. I’d eat this salad alllllll day err day, though.
I’m so impressed! I’m going to need you to come grocery shopping with me for moral support please.
Looks wonderful… congrats on the new baby!
Thank you so much, Annika!
I just had a kale salad for the first time a few days ago and loved it! This sounds wonderful.
That’s awesome!! I’m glad you liked it! We’ve been trying to eat a lot more greens around here lately so we’re trying a lot of new salads.